Final answer:
To motivate sales reps and provide security, a producer should opt for a Salary plus commission payment plan. This hybrid approach encourages aggressive sales performance with commission incentives, while the base salary offers financial stability and balances time for supporting activities. Option 2.
Step-by-step explanation:
The payment plan that a producer should use to keep sales reps motivated and aggressive, while providing them with some job security and increasing the time they spend on supporting activities, is Option 2: Salary plus commission. This plan offers a base salary that guarantees some level of security for the reps, and a commission to encourage aggressiveness and motivation in sales activities. This hybrid approach not only provides financial stability but also incentivizes increased productivity and sales performance.
Other options, like straight commission (Option 1), might push reps to focus solely on sales at the expense of support activities, while an hourly wage (Option 4) would not directly incentivize sales performance. Profit-sharing (Option 3) could motivate employees, but might not offer the immediate incentives tied directly to individual sales effort that commission does.